Love at First Site: What Makes a ‘Sponsor of Choice’ in Clinical Trials

According to SCRS, complexity was one of the top three reasons why a site will decline a study. In other words, sites aren't looking to conduct trials for just any sponsor. The question is, do sponsors truly know what drives this complexity or what else sites may be looking for?    

We aimed to answer this question in our DPHARM 2025 session, The Final Rose: Love at First Site!  

On this panel inspired by The Bachelorette, four study sponsors competed to be one Clinical Research Program Manager’s Sponsor of Choice. To earn the final rose, each sponsor had to prove their commitment to improving patient recruitment, site efficiency, and overall engagement.  

Let’s meet our panelists! 

Study Sponsors

• Patrick Floody, Regeneron
• Gretchen Goller, Pfizer
• Dennis Salotti, Jazz Pharmaceuticals
• Adrienne Walstrum, Merck 

Site Bachelorette

Lauren Mitteer, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia  

To choose which sponsor was her true match made in clinical research, Lauren asked them about their strategies to reduce site burden and improve engagement.   

Strong Connections

Lauren emphasized the need for sites and sponsors to have a strong relationship. Dennis from Jazz promised direct access to the sponsor with maximum responsiveness and a strong infrastructure to support the most effective communication with the site.  

Building trust through reliability? Sounds like the key to any site’s heart. 

Less Time Chasing

Sites spend a lot of time searching for the right contact and chasing down answers, especially when the patient is present. Patrick from Regeneron offered the perfect solution: a secure chat function for immediate help. “Whether I’m at my desk or on my phone, I can get you an answer right away.” 

Who needs to be wined and dined when you can have direct chat with your study sponsor? 

Streamlined Recruitment Support

"I have a love/hate relationship with central recruitment support from sponsors,” Lauren told Gretchen from Pfizer. Her sponsor of choice would offer streamlined follow-up for higher likelihood that patients will pass screening.   

She was ecstatic to hear Gretchen’s ideas: automated call scheduling to prevent phone tag, IRT integrations to reduce reconciliation of referrals to randomizations and screen failures, and eliminating limits on screen fail payments.  

They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but really all she wants is more qualified patients. 

Cutting Through the Chaos

Interpreting visit flows, keeping track of documents and technology, and remembering contacts: it’s all a drain on the site's time. (40 hours a week, to be exact!) Adrienne from Merck knew just what our site bachelorette needed: technology to help manage documentation, and tools for task-specific support. Most importantly, Adrienne emphasized listening to sites and establishing partnerships to provide them with the help they need. 

As Lauren put it: “Efficiency and accuracy: that is my love language.” 

The Final Rose

When it came time to deliver the final rose, Lauren faced a tough choice. “As a modern-day researcher,” she said, “I want it all!”  

With that, all four of our sponsor panelists received a rose for proving their deep commitment to site engagement and efficiency. 

Sponsors Are Committed, and so Are We!

As a sponsor, you want the best for your sites. After all, your study depends on it! But it’s a heavy lift, and we’re here to help. Learn more about our end-to-end platform designed for flawless recruitment and engagement.